The Children's Crusade
by Laurence Windham

Though I had hit him several times, I had not yet drawn any blood. He was scared but still fighting back, scrapping, trying to get out from under me, when suddenly I was airborne. Something had grabbed me from behind, lifted me into the air and was carrying me toward our house. Soon I realized that my father had come upon the scene of his twelve-year-old son pummeling his archrival in the backyard. Once inside my dad stood me up and angrily demanded, "What is going on?" As much as I feared my dad, I fired back the cause of my supposed brutality, "He hit my sister!" Then I started to cry. And my dad smiled. He put his hand on my shoulder and told me how proud he was of me and that I should always protect my younger siblings. He told me I had done well. My dad and I didn't have many "moments" but that was one, and I have never forgotten it.

Now I am a father. My oldest child is 6. My fifth child is due in four weeks. And even now, I am teaching them to fight. War is not hell. War is life. We are born again into a lifetime battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil. As a patriarch, I would be irresponsible if I failed to make my children aware of this reality and if I was negligent in preparing them for the fight of their lifetime.

I so appreciate my good friend RC. At the birth of each of his children he reads to them in the delivery room, Proverbs 31 to his daughters, Proverbs 3 to his sons.. And thus inducts them into what he calls, The RC Sproul Jr. School of Spiritual Warfare. He understands the truth that life for the Christian is best understood by the language of war:

How do we teach our children to fight? We worship our Lord in the beauty of holiness. Our approach to God each Lord's Day is full of reverence. We dine at His table each Sunday. We confess our sins, hear from His word, and sing psalms and hymns that articulate His nature, attributes and wonderful works to the children of men. We do this because it is the right thing to do. We do this with our children and babies present. They learn by watching and listening and participating, that God is awesome and powerful and sovereign. They see their strong, tall fathers bow before His presence. Each week they are reminded of the faith that shapes their parents' lives. During the week this is taught to them by their parents through bible study, catechism, story, song, memorization, and the way Dad and Mom live their lives before God. This deliberation is sealed with vows we take when we baptize our children- a vow to our own offspring and to each other's as well.

We also teach our children who their friends are. We do this by including them in conversations with our righteous peers. They see the respect we hold for each other as we talk or dine or study or work together. We speak highly of our fellow-soldiers in our homes. True love and admiration cannot be hidden. Our sons and daughters take notice.

We also are careful to point out to our children who their enemies are. We make this determination based on what the Scriptures teach. There are lines that are drawn as to who lives for God and how this is done. Unfortunately, there are believers who are uninformed in some of these areas. This is our hardest task... explaining to our younger ones why so-and-so thinks in such a way or lives a certain way and also claims to be a Christian. (For more on this, read all the back issues of Every Thought Captive located at www.highlandsstudycenter.org).

Another dynamic to all of this is linked to the sovereignty of God. We teach them to do right even if the stars fall. It matters not whether the battle can be won or not, what matters is that they find themselves on the front line. So, as we teach them to stand for the truth, we equip them with discernment, we arm them with the Word of God, we endeavor to set the right example in every situation for their training, and we spend our lives pointing them to our Lord and King.

If we do our job well, they will by any means necessary, fight the good fight. They will have been prepared to use their knowledge and wit in the coffee shop or on the campus, their exemplary lives in the market place, the keys of the Kingdom in their church. They will be strong and courageous, leading their families forward against the flow of compromise.

They will learn that their Savior was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, had no place to lay His head, and was despised and rejected. They will experience these same trials as they struggle to live godly lives. They will learn that pain means that they are still alive, alive to fight another day.

And they will have joy. There is such a "high" in knowing and living out the truth. The soul is settled. The heart is secure when the knees are calloused from prayer, the wits are sharp from having been engaged, the Bible cover is worn from use, the shoulders are sore from bearing others burdens, and courage from God outweighs fear of man.

When my children are in their late teens, they will by the grace of God, be equipped to drop an enemy at two hundred yards with a rifle, take two opponents in hand-to-hand, be versed in survival skills, defend the Scriptures, dismantle erroneous worldviews, articulate the gospel, and be discerning and wise. All the while, they will understand that whatever form the enemy takes, whatever the odds, the battle is the Lord's.